First, one of the key plot points in the third Order of the Air book is an abandoned silver mine in Colorado that is said to be haunted, the Silver Bullet Mine. Of course our team has to investigate, and that moves a lot of the action forward.

Second, Silver Bullet is the code name of a secret project, a device built by scientist Nikola Tesla, and that also plays heavily in the plot. Yes, Tesla is in this book. No, he's not a vampire. Probably. ;)

Third, it reflects the mood of the country at this point, November and December 1932. Everyone is looking for a silver bullet, a miracle cure, an amazing solution to all the world's problems that's quick and easy. A single answer. A bullet to the heart. A magic bullet. And of course there isn't one. A world economic crisis doesn't have an easy answer, nor do enormous other problems that people face. There is no silver bullet. It's an illusion. But the quest for one leads people down some dangerous and ugly roads.

In a sense, Silver Bullet is the book where things turn darker. This moment in time, though the characters don't know it, is when the world takes two steps closer to cataclysmic war. In 1929 Alma could say that there would never be another Great War in her lifetime. At the end of 1932 she can still say that, but it's not true. The shadows are gathering even if they do not yet touch the Shire, so to speak.

Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor on January 30, 1933, though he had been elected in 1932. Roosevelt was sworn in as president on March 4, 1933, though he had been elected three days before the beginning of Silver Bullet, in November 1932.

Silver Bullet is November/December 1932, from Armistice Day to Christmas Day -- the moments between. This is the second when everything hangs in the balance! Which is why we chose this moment, of course. It's five weeks at the cusp.